Means and method for joining abutting edges of coated fabric



I March M, 1941.

I H. SILVERSTEIN 2,234,845 MEANS AND METHOD FOR JOINING ABUTTING EDGES 0F COATED FABRIC Filed Nov. 23, 1938 1 i 4' 1/01, wax xmw INVENTOR flwwwvSavaesrzwv gflwwew ATTO R N EY tented Mar. 11, 1941 MEANS AND METHOD FOR JOINING ABUT- I TING EDGES OF COATED FABRIC I Hyman Silverstein, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application November 23, 1938, Serial No. 242,007

3 Claims.

This invention relates to articles formed from fabric having a surface of coating compound to impart predetermined color, gloss and water-re..- sistant properties thereto, and particularly to articles so fashioned as to form along portions thereof adjacent edges arranged in close proximity to each other; and the object ofthis invention is to provide a means and method for joining the adjacent edges of said fabric for retaining said edges against relative displacement and for producing a neatly finished appearance on the surface of said article; a furtherobject being to provide means having properties in common with said coating or surfacing compound for integrally uniting adjacent edges of said fab-.

ric; a still further object being to provide for the coloring of said joining or uniting means to produce in the resulting article desired uniform or contrasting color characteristics; and with these and other objects in view, the invention consists in an article of the class described which is simple in construction, efiicient in use, and which is constructed in accordance with the method as more fully hereinafter described and claimed:

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an article made according to my invention indicating the means joining adjacent edges of the material thereof.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the joining means as shown in Fig. 2 and showing a modification.

.In the manufacture of articles in which color, flexibility and water-resistant properties are important factors, it is customary to use a fabric treated with a layer of coating compound to produce the desired surface properties. My invention concerns articles'of this type in which free edges of the treated fabric are arranged in close proximity to each other and preferably cemented or otherwise secured to a suitable backing or support to give the-desired shape to the article. The support or backing may be of any suitable material and in some instances, as will hereinafter be described, may comprise other folded or collapsed portions of the fabric itself. This,

method of cementing coated fabrics and the adjacent portions thereof to a support or backing is admittedly common in theart, but leads to considerable difficulty in the use and wear of the articles since the adjacent edges readily become separated. from the support. A primary feature of my invention is to provide means for integrally joining and permanently securing these adjacent edges together, thereby obviating the usual damage incurred in the use and wear of the article, while at the same time enhancing the appearance'of the article and rendering the surface thereof water-proof throughout. 10

To illustrate one adaptation of my invention, I have shown in Figs. 1 and 2 i the drawing a short length of belt or tape 5- comprising an elongated flexible fabric strip 6 folded as at I, 1a to bring edges 8, 8a into adjacent or abutting relationship. The fabric is surfaced with a layer of coating compound 9 of a type which may readily be colored and which at the same time is flexible and water-proof. A great many types of coatings are used in articles-of this class, and in many instances the coating has a celluldsic base of the pyroxylin type and includes resinous fillers and pigments to produce the particular color and physical properties desired. It will be understood, however, that my invention is not limited to fabric coated with any specific coating compound, but applies to coated fabrics generally.

In an article such as the belt or tape 5, the contacting surfaces of the adjacent edges 8, 8a in the adjacent portions of thefabric are preferably secured to the opposed portion of the folded fabric by a suitable cement Hi to maintain the belt or tape in its predetermined flat form; In an article of this type it is important that this cement have resilient properties when dry or set so as to in no way impair the flexibility of the finished article. It will be noted, however, that in various types of articles the adjacent edges 8, 8a and the adjoining portions of the fabric may be cemented to any desired supporting surface, or in some instances may be independent of any such supporting surface. In other words, the cement Ill employed in the article shown in Fig. 2 is essential only to articles of this specific class and it will be noted that in Fig.- 3 the fabric has been shown independently of any support and cement to secure the fabric thereto. It will be further noted that in Fig. 3, I have indicated two different fabrics 6', 60, each having surface coatings 9, 9a respectively which are similar in many respects but which may have differently colored or otherwise distinctively characterized surfaces.

at l in the drawing comprises a suitable cement arranged along the adjacent edges 8, 8a of the fabric. The cement extends laterally as at 12, 12a onto the surface coating 9 of said adjacent edges, and at points where the edges 8, 8a are sufficiently spaced apart, the cement also extends downwardly between said edges as indicated at l3 in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The cement l l preferably has a base similar to that of the coating compound 9. For example, when a cellulosic material of the pyroxylin type is used as a base for the coating compound 9, a pyroxylin cement will be used in the sealing means II. It will be apparent that when the sealing material H and the coating compound 9 are thus similar in physical properties, the action of the solvent in the cement or sealing material II will integrally combine this material with the coating compound 9 and thereby produce a continuous and substantially uniform layer of material across the adjacent or abutting edges of the fabric. Fig. 2 of the drawing brings out the integral nature of the joint between these edges, while Fig. 3 shows on a somewhat larger scale, a substantially T-shaped contour of the sealing portion II in the finished article. The particular contour of the outer surface M of the sealing material I I may be fashioned in any desired manner, the channel cross-section shown in the drawing being illustrated merely to indicate one possible contour. The bond as indicated at I5, I51: which is formed between the sealing material II and the adjacent edges 8, 8a of the coated fabric by the action of the solvent in the sealing material II is extremel strong and in practice, the joint between the adjacent edges is even stronger than the coated fabric itself.

In fashioning a belt or strap 5 in accordance with my invention, strips of coated material of predetermined width and of any desired length, are treated on the fabric side thereof with a cement l0 having properties as previously described, and then folded tobrin the edge portions 8, 8a of the fabric into closely adjacent or abutting relationship. The cement Ill serves to secure the contacting surfaces of the fabric together and to positively define the folded crosssectional contour of the fabric. The sealing material I l is then applied across the adjacent edges 8, 8a of the fabric by a suitable pressure feeding means which serves to force a portion of the material I I between said edges of the fabric, and which at the same time spreads a portion of the material onto the surface coating 9 of the fabric. In the applying operation a predetermined contour of the surface l4 may be given to the surface I4 to impart to the strip of sealing material decorative as well as reinforcing properties. It will be apparent, however, that if desired, a portion of the sealing material I I may be scraped off or otherwise removed to produce a relatively smooth or level surface across the adjacent edges 8, 8a. The cement is then dried by either passing the joined belt or strip over suitable racks to permit atmospheric drying, or by passing the joined fabric through a heated drier to accelerate the volatilization of the cement solvent.

It will be understood that the sealin material Il may be either colorless or colored in any desired manner to match or contrast with the coated material 9. It will be apparent in this connection that the use of contrasting colors in the sealing material makes possible a wide variet of decorative effects. The adjacent edges of the fabric to be joined may of course have any straight line or predetermined irregular contour, and my joining means facilitates the formation of the surface material for a great many articles such as luggage, furniture, book-covers and the like in an unlimited variety of patterns comprising independent and differently colored pieces of coated fabric integrally joined at the adjacent or abutting edges thereof. It will also be apparent that my joining means is particularly adapted for forming apparently seamless tubes of coated fabric which would find great use in the coverin of various rods and rails in the decoration of furniture. It will thus be clearly understood that while for purposes of illustration I have shown my joining means as applied to a belt or tape, in practice the novel joining means may be used in any case where similarly coated fabrics have adjacent edges arranged in close proximity and substantially parallel to each other throughout the straight and irregular contour of said edges.

It is not necessary that the coatings on the adjacent fabrics be identical as to color or other physical properties. The important requirement is that the coatings on the two fabrics be formed from a similar base material and that the sealing material likewise includes a similar base and a solvent common to the several materials. The particular solvent used is purely a matter of choice .and convenience, especially when the coating and sealing materials are of a pyroxylin or other cellulosic base, since compounds of this class are readily soluble in many of the common organic solvents. It will be apparent that the action of the solvent on the coating and sealing compounds operates to dissolve a portion of each compound in the other so that when the solvent has evaporated, the contacting portions of the compounds are integrally welded together.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The herein described method of joining and sealing parallel opposed edges of a fabric strip coated on the outer surface thereof, which comprises first folding edge portions of said strip of coated fabric onto the inner surface of the central portion thereof to arrange the uncoated surfaces of the strip one upon the other with said edge portions in the same plane and with the edges of the strip in closely adjacent relationship, securing inner adjacent surfaces of the folded strip together, then applying longitudinally of said adjacent edges a fluid cement'compound having a base similar to the base of said coating by forcing the cement compound between said edges and forming a layer of compound extending onto said coating along said adjacent edges, and then drying the cement to produce a waterproof seal along said adjacent edges.

2. A fabric strip having side edge portions folded onto the central portion, said side edge portionsbeing disposed in the same plane with the edges thereof in closely adjacent spaced relationship, all outer surfaces of said strip having a water resistant compound coating, inner surfaces of said side edges being secured to adjacent inner surfaces of the central portion of the strip, a sealing compound extending along said adjacent edges upon said coating compound to form a narrow, sealing body extending the full length of the strip, said body extending between said adjacent edges, the side edges of said body overlying the edges of said strip and having outwardly protruding beads extending longitudinally thereof, and the compound of said body having a base similar to the base of said coating compound whereby an integral bond is formed by said body and outer coating compound.

3. A coated fabric of the class described employing material finished on the outer surface with pyroxylin, portions of said material being disposed in edge to edge relation, means bridging said portion and secured to the inner surfaces thereof for retaining the edges in juxtaposition, means independent of said first named means disposed between said outer surfaces for uniting and sealing said edges of the material, said last named means comprising a cementitious body comprising an adhesive having a solvent common to said pyroxylin, thereby adapting said body to integrally unite with adjacent pyroxylin surfaces of said material, and said body extending longitudinally of said adjacent edges and onto the adjacent outer surfaces to form a bond therewith sealing said bridging means and form- 10 ing a reenforcement across said edges.

HYMAN SILVERSTEIN. 

